The Answer Is In The Beat

Brainwaltzera: ITSAME (Film, 2022)

May 14, 2022 at 7:24 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

In which the anonymous IDM sensation reveals himself to be an iconic video game character. No, actually, this is a sprawling set of synth tracks with non-serious song titles and loads of personality. This comes a little closer to Ilian Tape finely tuned club propulsion than the Rephlex braindance it clearly models itself after, with parts that dip into slo-mo synthwave dizziness (“re: laps (roll with iD)”) and rainy day guitar introspection (“PROVE UR NOT A ROWBOAT [SKIPPER]”). The skittery, sad IDM (“a star is bored”) and glitched-out breakbeat (“tracing Rays [reality glo]”, “ad interim”, “medal headz [G.B.D.F]”) tracks especially deliver the goods, but there’s no lack of quality here.

Tommaso Moretti: Inside Out (Bace Records, 2022)

May 13, 2022 at 6:33 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Percussionist, guitarist, composer, and vocalist Tommaso Moretti‘s music alternates between several different perspectives and influences, incorporating Afrobeat and samba rhythms as well as bits of surf rock into its fluid, polyrhythmic jazz base. Yet he never feels like he’s trying to smash a bunch of random, unrelated sounds together, so his transitions never sound jarring. Opener “Italiano in America” bops, swings, and jitters, but never loses its cool. “Redefine the Purpose”, a vocal number with flute and xylophone, is a bit loungey, but still anxious and winding. “Edge of a Decade”, one of a handful of songs with cornetist Ben Lamar Gay, is a more celebratory outer-limits samba jam. “Going Home / Flying Away From Home” is a dazzling 9-minute suite featuring inventive violão playing by Edinho Gerber. “Era De Maggio” is a more nostalgic, swaying tune with earnest vocals, sounding much more traditional than some of the album’s more ambitious tracks, which at times feel like calmer Zappa compositions.

Winged Wheel: No Island LP (12XU, 2022)

April 29, 2022 at 5:42 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Winged Wheel is a remote collaboration between four musicians whose various projects are always a must-listen: Whitney Johnson (Matchess), Cory Plump (Spray Paint), Matthew Rolin (Powers/Rolin Duo), and Fred Thomas (no intro necessary). Fred sent drum loops over to Cory, who added guitar and bass parts, Matthew added further guitars, and Whitney sang in her familiar submerged style, although her voice is a little clearer in the mix here. While clearly a studio creation, there’s such a distinctive chemistry to this album that it’s obvious that all four musicians’ spirits are in one place, even if their bodies aren’t. The drums hold it all in place, and the guitars and effects are just vast canopies of sound, with the vocals driving it all home. “Blue Pigeon” is just some next level dream pop. All of the artists involved bring their own personalities to this group, from Spray Paint’s blown-axis distortion to City Center’s basement punk dreaminess and Hydropark’s motorik pop to Matchess’s out-of-body mysticism, but here they coalesce into something else entirely. Wonderful.

Ambassador Hazy: The Traveler LP (Hazy House/Cardinal Fuzz, 2022)

April 27, 2022 at 8:37 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

The second album in as many years from this lo-fi project delivers more ramshackle psych-pop that goes on impulses rather than fine-tuning ideas and perfecting the performances and recordings. It delivers the hazy feel the artist name promises, but it’s not overly indulgent or meandering, and it’s energetic and sometimes quite memorable. “Simple Thing” is a drum machine-based winner with some tasty fuzz guitar and nice trippy fx. “Gone to My Head” is more of a ’90s indie pop gem, with a wail-along chorus. “Don’t Smash It To Pieces” gets by with its knocking drums and insistent refrain. Even when the songs aren’t so catchy, they’re still delivered with feeling, and the album is brimming with homespun creativity.

Ryan Huber: Duopoly + Subterrane (self-released, 2022)

April 23, 2022 at 7:40 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

The elusive Ryan Huber has recently resurfaced on Bandcamp with some new releases, as well as a couple from the vaults. I haven’t listened to the latest one yet, but the two earlier ones from this year showcase two vastly different sides of his work. Duopoly is sort of a minimal techno release, but one that doesn’t follow the linear path of most minimal techno. “Bucket Collector” is eight minutes of ticking beats, but at different volumes and intensities, making it feel like it’s ducking down different paths and coming back into view. “Details Matter” is more rapid and racing, but the beat is tunneling away from you. “Commercial Soul” is like grappling at the side of a cliff while dust and pebbles are trickling down on you, but you’re still able to keep balance and climb without falling. “Skytaker” has the energy of an acid trance track in the making, but instead of taking off, it burrows inside itself. The title track also has a nervous pulse that feels like it could blast off, but it seems to fade into the shadows, and the pulse that threatens to incite damage is what takes over.

While Duopoly has some propulsion, even if it ends up ends up being an illusion and never actually progresses, Subterrane is a drone release that is absolutely steadfast about remaining in one place, or trying not to exist at all. That said, it does gradually shift into different spaces, and there are moments when it swells up into something resembling light rather than ever-present darkness. When he titles a track “Dearth”, though, he’s not pulling any punches. “The Pulse” comes close to the distant reverberations of a slowly tolling bell, and the last three tracks are dramatic enough to feel like they have cinematic undertones, forming some doom-filled mini-suite.

Meadow Argus: Peristera tape (self-released, 2022)

April 22, 2022 at 7:13 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

The latest Meadow Argus tape is the longest one yet, letting each side stretch out for over 20 minutes. “Archytas”, the first half, sounds like a giant grotesque sculpture made of music box innards, churning away and creating dislocated rhythms tripping over themselves in multiple directions. Whining tape hiss and the last shred of operatic vocals from a mostly dubbed-over cassette lurk way down in the bottom of the mix, and there’s many moments where something tilts way off its axis, but there’s still several other gears spinning. “Peristera” has a similar makeup, except the music box melody at the front seems much more cheerful, yet it’s contrasted by dissonant droning. The effect is much like a sweet dream and a strange, insistent nightmare (not an especially violent one, but definitely a haunting one that lingers for a while) both jostling for space in your head at the same time. And the brief moments when the music box tips off-balance edge closer to the more disturbed state, but it still remains afloat until the tape’s abrupt end.